Aiden bumped awake as the hover transport levitated over a ditch and couldn't quite compensate. Not that it was surprising. It was an older transport. The magitron engine keeping it in the air had a slight whine to it instead of the soft hum of modern ones. In addition, there was the roar of the aetheric condenser thrusters that couldn't be quite muffled by the battered and worn-down hull. It had been a wonder that Aiden had managed to fall asleep in the first place.

Looking around, Aiden saw that he hadn't been the only one napping. To his left was his uncle. The hardy man was softly snoring. He wouldn't be described as handsome even in his prime. Now, after a hard life, he looked worse. Aiden wondered if he'd look like that too in ten years. If he lived that long.

Signing up with bandits and outlaws was a death sentence. But in his uncle's words, it was better to live short and bright than live long and in misery. And that would have been Aiden's future too. Spending his days of youth and old age on a forgotten rural planet that was so run down that backwater planets spit on it mockingly. When the offer came to join Guston's Marauders, he signed up without hesitation.

As the small door to the cockpit of the transport slammed open more than one unwashed bandit jerked awake and cursed. Not too loud as Guston entered the small cabin. No one wanted to piss off their leader.

"Listen up, boys!" their leader said and everyone fell silent. "We'll be arriving in five, so pay attention. This job ain't like others and if it works, we'll be rich. I bet some of you wondered why we stole a sleeve gun from the black markets of Agregon."

More than a few of them twitched when their last job was mentioned. They had lost two of their crew and three others had gotten holes in their bodies that weren't meant to be there. At least they survived.

All for a sleeve gun. Guston hadn't explained why they needed such a cursed and highly illegal weapon. Anyone hit by it would turn into a sleeve. Their body would hollow out and be practically dead, yet still alive. Others could wear that sleeve and through magic, temporarily turn into the person. It was the number one tool of identity thieves. It was also considered murder. While the sleeves were still alive and the soul within conscious, the process couldn't be reversed. Leaving the victims in this horrible fate forever.

"What most of you don't know is that those who wear a sleeve can access the sleeves memories," Guston continued. He then held up a battered computer tablet with more than a few cracks on it. It displayed two pictures of a young woman. On the left was a professional mugshot and on the right was barely out-of-focus shot from a surveillance camera. "This is Catherine Van Deckstett. Seventh daughter and heiress of a very wealthy merchant family. At least until she said 'fuck it' and robbed her own family's most secure vault. Making away with a small fortune. Boys, that's enough dough to retire for each of us on a nice vacation planet. Catherine has been in hiding for the past ten years. There is a sizable bounty on her head. But we ain't here for that."

The picking up murmurs fell silent as Gaston continued. "We sleeve her and then one of you lads will wear her. This will allow us to get access to the memories of little miss thieving Van Deckstett. And the location where she hid her stolen goods."

"I ain't no wearing a bitch's skin!" one bandit shouted out and the sentiment was quickly picked up by the rest of the crew.

"Well, thankfully, we have a young boy eager to prove himself, right?"

All eyes turned to Aiden who felt suddenly very much put on the spot. He had no choice but to do it, yet he shouldn't be too eager about it. Else he would lose what little respect earn from his fellow outlaws.

"Be a bitch for five minutes to fuck bitches for the rest of my life on some tropical beach? Not to mention I won't be needing seeing your ugly mugs anymore," Aiden said into the round. "Count me in."

That statement got him a few claps on the shoulder. Apparently, he had struck the right balance of reluctance and agreement.

"Right now, she is holed up as a bar owner in Westcliff Crossroads under the name Alleen Eiger. Not the best part of town. Remote and full of low-lives. We'll blend right in." Guston glanced at the tablet and then nodded. "It is one twenty-three in the morning. By two she usually closes up. We will walk in there and wait until everyone else leaves. Then we strike. Order a drink or two, but don't get drunk."

On cue, the transport slowed down. Aiden could feel the vehicle maneuver around until they reached a parking spot. As they felt the thunk of the transport landing, Guston pulled open the heavy sliding side door. "Come on, boys. Time to get our throats wet and get rich while at it."

Cheers erupted around Aiden, who didn't pitch in. For the payoff proposed, this appeared too easy. He didn't like that one bit. Still, he left the vehicle and did his best to act like the others. A rough bunch looking to drink the night away.

Contrary to the patrons, the inside of the bar was surprisingly clean. Alleen obviously took care of it. Speaking of the bar owner, as they entered, Aiden caught her eyes. She was beautiful. Even more so than her pictures suggested. Gone was the prim and proper clothing and instead, she clearly wore something that made her feel sexy. Some top that was more a collection of belts and buckles than fabric and leather pants that were skin-tight. The way she quickly checked him out clued him in that the attraction was mutual. Sadly, he knew it would never work out. Her fate was as good as sealed.

Aiden joined his group who piled themselves around two large tables. Their presence more than tripled the number of customers. Here and there a lone drunk was stashed away in one corner or another. Minding their own drinks and business.

"You are new here," Alleen said as she came over with a notepad and pen. "Not that I mind. But just that you know. One round only. I'll be closing in half an hour."

"Fine with us," Guston spoke up before one of his crew could screw things up.

They ordered a drink each and quite unusually only nursed it instead of inhaling. It didn't take long for the other customers to leave. Once Alleen refused to refill glasses, the drunks left to search for another place to fuel their addiction.

"Bottoms up, boys," Guston said as he downed the rest of his own drink. As the crew followed suit, he stood up. Barring his gun.

Alleen was quick on the uptake. She raised her hand before even half of the crew drew weapons and took strategic positions. "Look. Guys. No trouble, okay? There isn't much in the till, but what's there is-"

She fell silent as a bright blue bolt struck her midriff. There was a shocked look in her eyes as she made out the sleeve gun in Guston's hand and what fate was promised to her. A blink later and she just crumbled on the spot. As if someone had removed her spine from one moment to the next. Aiden knew that was in a way correct. Not just her spine had vanished.

"Lad," Guston said and turned around to look at Aiden. "Time for your part."

There was a sudden queasy feeling in Aiden's stomach. Making his way behind the bar it only got worse. As if any moment now everything could go to shit. He should feel the opposite. The hard part was done. Alleen slash Catherine was sleeved. All he had to do was slip in and get the relevant memory.

What was left of the heiress turned thief laid crumpled among her clothing. Aiden needed a moment to extract her from it. What he then held was just an empty hull of skin. With a slit in her back for someone to slide into. Aiden knew that would be him.

He wasn't sure how the sleeve would handle clothing. Just to be sure, Aiden undressed. There were a few jokes and rude comments by the crew, but Aiden ignored them. Now wasn't the time to chicken out.

Once naked, Aiden pushed his left leg in. The feeling of doing so surprised him. It was oddly sensual. The inside was still warm and a little slick. As if it was lubricated just for him. He could already feel the magic at work once his left foot arrived inside Alleen's foot. He now had miss-matched legs. The left one was very feminine and shorter, while the right one was slightly longer and more muscular.

Before he could think about it and freak out, Aiden pushed his right leg in. It went in smoothly. Just like the first. To his shame, the feeling was pleasurable enough that he got stiff between the legs. To hide it was easy. Aiden just had to pull up Alleen's crotch and hips over his own. Doing so made his erection vanish. From the waist down, he now really looked and felt like a woman.

Now it was time for the torso. Aiden was at a loss on how to best tackle slipping into it. Yet a moment later, he knew. As if he had done it before. He pushed in both arms halfway in and then used them to help guide his head. As the sleeve slipped in place, Aiden couldn't tell anymore where it ended and his body began. Just like with the legs, his original body was seemingly overwritten.

"This is so freaky," Aiden said aloud and was shocked as the voice coming out wasn't his own. He definitely sounded now like Alleen.

Nearly done, Aiden was eager to get this over with. Even though this felt good, he'd rather return to his own body. Sadly this was one of those instances where it would get worse before it got better.

Pushing his arms the rest of the way into the sleeve made them sleek and feminine. It also caused his torso to slip into place. A moment later, he knew what it felt like to have breasts. Now, all that was left was to close the slit in the back and he would have turned completely into Alleen.

"Let me get that for you."

Aiden frowned. That sounded like Alleen. But her voice didn't come out of her throat. Now his throat. He heard her directly in his head.

"How-"

His question tethered off as he felt the slit close by itself. Slowly, from the bottom up, it fused. As it went past his waist, it contracted. Giving him a slight hourglass figure. Then, it finished, and Aiden's shoulders narrowed. He knew that now, he was an exact copy of Alleen. Aiden couldn't even feel his original body anymore.

"And?" Guston asked as he leaned on the bar. Making Aiden uncomfortable as his new naked form was studied. "Can you access her memory? Where is the treasure?"

Something behind Guston drew Aiden's attention. In the background, outside the bar, something had moved. It was just for a moment and he couldn't quite figure out what it had been.

"You might want to duck," Alleen whispered in his mind.

"What?"

"I asked if you can access her," Guston said in response. "Listen, lad, if you-"

"DUCK!" Alleen screamed in his head. Aiden threw himself on the ground by instinct. Not a second too soon as the windows of the bar exploded inward. While he couldn't see them, Aiden heard the many bullets impacting or ricocheting around.

"To cover!" Someone shouted. Not Guston. Their leader was hunched dead over the bar and dripped blood from a dozen wounds. "Return fire. Make these fucke-"

"Don't just cower here," Alleen said in his head. "Bothley and his crew won't take long to finish them off. You better get dressed before they do. If they find a naked Alleen - namely you - they'll get suspicious."

"How did you-"

Aiden's question cut off as a quick memory flashed through his mind. It wasn't his own, but Alleen's. It was her a second before she raised her arms in surrender to Guston. With her left foot, she had hit a small camouflaged button on the ground. Alerting the local sheriff that she was in trouble.

With curses, Aiden grabbed for the discarded clothes and frantically tried to slip into them.

"Why are your pants so tight?"

"Because they make our butt look great," Alleen answered in his head. "Hurry! I don't think your gang will last much longer."

Finally done with the leather pants, Aiden grabbed for the belted top. Nearly despairing seeing this many buckles. It was a complicated mess. Yet suddenly it made sense. He knew how to unbuckle it and shimmy into the top. As if he had done so dozens of times before. He even knew how to close it up in the right order so the belts wouldn't dig into his breasts.

"Alleen? Are you alright?"

Apparently, the gunfight had ended without Aiden noticing. The voice he heard belonged to Bothley, the local sheriff. How Aiden knew that - despite never meeting that guy - was freaking him out a little. Yet on instinct, he pushed out a "yeah, sweetie" just as he slipped into rugged leather boots with a slightly raised heel.

"Kick your old clothes under the counter!" Alleen reminded him. Just in time, he complied before someone rugged rounded the bar. It was Bothley. Local sheriff, ex-special forces, avid bodybuilder, and a beast in bed. The memory of Alleen and him fucking, Aiden could have done without.

Bothley offered his hand for Alleen. Not knowing that it was Aiden who grabbed it and not the original barkeep. As Aiden got to his feet, Bothley pulled him close and planted a deep long kiss on him. While Aiden was startled, instincts he hadn't known existed woke up. Returning quite eagerly the affection offered. And while they kissed, more memories flooded Aiden's brain. Bothley and Alleen had been lovers for a while. The montage of kisses and fuck-scenes was enough to convince him.

"Boss. Boss!" A deputy broke through the pleasant haze that enveloped Aiden. Breaking the kiss, Aiden saw Terril. A buddy turned deputy of Bothley and ex-army as well. Alleen had also fucked him. The same counted for all other deputies as well. What made Aiden's stomach lurch and blood run cold was what Terril was holding. "Sleeve gun, boss. One shot was fired."

Aiden knew he was in deep shit as Bothley took a step back. Looking worried at him. Maybe already guessing that the Alleen in front of him wasn't the real one.

"Repeat after me," Alleen whispered in his head. "They did. I am fine, sweetie. They missed."

More than a little worried, Aiden repeated the prompt out loud. Why Alleen was helping him impersonate her, he couldn't tell. He just hoped she would continue to do so.

"I wish I could believe you," Bothley said as his hand fell on his holstered gun. "I need to see your back."

"Go ahead," Alleen whispered. "There is nothing to worry about."

"Fine," Aiden pressed out. Not sure if to Bothley or the Alleen in his head. This time the belted top opened up easier for him. Yet, in the end, he still hesitated.

"Go ahead," Alleen urged him. "They all have seen this body nacked."

"I know you fucked them all," Aiden thought angrily. Alleen chuckled. Making him wonder if she could read his thoughts.

Though caught off-guard, Aiden tossed the stupid top aside. Who designed such impractical things anyway? Now was the moment of truth. He slowly turned around. Hoping Alleen was on his side and this wasn't a mistake.

Once his back was to Bothley, the sheriff let two fingers glide down Aiden's spine. "Unblemished and lovely as always, Alleen," he said before pulling Aiden's waist closer and giving a kiss on his neck. "One can never be too careful with sleeve guns. You understand, right babe?"

Aiden somehow knew how to proceed from here. He turned around and gave his best impression of Alleen. Namely twisting around in Bothley's grasp and then planting a needy kiss on the sheriff's lips. To his surprise, he actually liked it. Felt his nipples stiffen and a heat awakened in his loins. It was the first time he experienced female arousal, yet it felt familiar. It must be the memories of Alleen that guided him.

After a moment, Aiden pushed away. If borrowed memory serves right, this could lead to sex. Maybe even with the whole group. He wasn't sure if the original Alleen was a nymphomaniac or if it was her way to buy loyalty. Bothley and his crew were ex-forces after all. She could do worse for bodyguards.

"I know," Aiden said aloud and then looked around the bar. Every deputy of Bothley's sheriff department was good and hale. The same couldn't be said for Guston's gang. They were a bloody mess. Shot to pieces. Their blood was dripping everywhere. Aiden nearly flinched as he saw his uncle. A few bullet holes in the chest, but it was probably the one in the head that did him in.

Memories flashed through his mind. This wasn't the first time the bar was in shambles or shot to pieces. It made him involuntarily laugh. "Look," he said and pointed with Alleen's delicate hand at the one surviving window. "That's got to be a first."

"You know what they say. There is a first time for everything." Bothley gave Aiden a cheeky grin. It didn't waver as he pulled out his gun and shot the window to pieces without even looking. "But not today for this one."

Aiden rolled his eyes. He didn't even have to act like Alleen. It came naturally. "You are paying for this one."

"Babe, of course." Bothley gave Aiden a cheeky smile. "As always, I pay for everything. How about you go upstairs and the boys and I will clean up. The guys of the morgue complained it was too boring lately. They'll have fun. And in an hour, I'll join you upstairs. Sounds good?"

"Do a good job and I might reward you later," Aiden promised. Then wondered why. He had to pretend to be Alleen, but the promise sounded pretty much like an offer for sex. Aiden wasn't into men, yet the prospect to do it with Bothley excited him. It shouldn't be possible, but were more than just Alleen's memories available to him? Acting as her came naturally to him. As if more than memory was available. Could he still trust his own instinct and reasoning?

"I'll go make the call," Bothley said to Aiden and then turned around to his deputies. "Stop staring at my girlfriend's tits. Make yourself busy."

The people around him sprang to action, but Aiden was at a loss of what to do. Thankfully Alleen had his back. "Now is your chance. Walk behind the bar. There is a plank of wood in the floor that is of lighter color. It can be removed. Hide your clothes in there before any of Bothley's men find it."

Startled, Aiden needed a moment to react. Then looked for an unobserved opportunity to do as Alleen had said. Still, he couldn't help but wonder and addressed her in his mind. "Why are you helping me?"

"Later," Alleen shot back. "When we are alone."

The answer was unsatisfactory, but there was nothing Aiden could do. Instead, he crouched down to remove the plank. Aiden had only seconds to do the deed, but he still lost two as he saw the contents of Alleen's hidden stash. Not the cash or half dozen of passports inside gave him pause. It was the gnarly looking sawed-off shotgun.

A memory of Alleen surfaced. He knew that the weapon was loaded with curse-bearing shells. If the fragments of the shells didn't kill you, then the magic would finish you off. A nasty way to go. A cold shudder went through Aiden as he realized that Alleen had plenty of time to retrieve the gun and blast Guston's gang to hell before they had made their move. Instead, she had played docile and even had led herself being sleeved. What was her plan?

Snapping out of it, Aiden quickly hid his clothes and then replaced the plank. Just in time as a deputy walked behind the bar. "Everything alright, Alleen?"

"Sure," Aiden said and gave him a smile. Hoping it didn't look too forced. Then he grabbed the belted top he had thrown aside previously. "Just retrieving my top."

As Aiden stood up, the shattering alerted him to the deputies broke the last pieces of damaged windows. Before he could wonder, a new memory surfaced. Apparently broken windows happened so often that Alleen had installed a system to help her out. Aiden waited until the deputies were done and then switched on a system inlet into the bar's counter. Amber force fields sprang into life. But those were temporary. A milky white substance crawled over the fields from all sides. Aiden now knew that this white sap would harden into a solid pane and be even more durable than the windows. A temporary fix until new windows would be set in.

Aiden didn't stick around to witness what was going on. Instead, with the top in hand, Aiden walked towards the backdoor marked as private. Behind it was a hallway that led to a small kitchen that was rarely used and a staircase to the second floor. Climbing up, Aiden made his way into Alleen's apartment.

After closing the door, Aiden collapsed against it. Too much happened in such a small frame of time and his mind desperately tried to catch up. Leaving him exhausted in its wake.

"Just what the hell is going on?" he whispered to himself.

Of course, he wasn't alone. Not really. Alleen took the opportunity to speak up. "Well, you and your buddies came to my bar and tried to sleeve me. I can guess you know who I really am. But I can speak to anything on your end before you stepped into me. I can share my memories and skills. Not the other way around."

"How can you even speak to me? Sleeves shouldn't be able to." Then Aiden was reminded of a terrifying fact. Just to make sure, Aiden felt his backside. He couldn't feel the seam that should allow him to slip out of the Alleen sleeve. "And where did the slit go?"

"I think it is better if I show you."

A memory surfaced. It was an older one. Back from when Alleen still had been known as Catherine. It was a memory of shock and anger. Aiden saw her parents at the moment that they had revealed an arranged marriage. To lord Dunsley of all people. That guy had a face only a mother could love. Not to mention that he was a bore in every conversation. The echo of those strong emotions of disgust and rejection flooded Aiden. Catherine was having none of it. She would hatch a plan to escape and make her family pay.

The scene switched. It was the seedy part of the city Catherine had grown up in. Aiden knew instinctively that this wasn't the first visit. She was here for an arranged meeting with a contact. It was in a bar not unlike Alleen now owned. It was love at first sight. The roguish thief she intended to hire stole her heart at first glance. But it was an equal exchange. He fell for her too before the first word was spoken.

A new memory blossomed. Catherine was in bed with Jaleed. The thief also known as Tanuki. They just had sex and the scent of it was still vivid in the shared memory. It was there that Jaleed laid open flaws in Catherine's plan. They needed a way to smuggle him in without being seen. Get him into the heart of the Van Deckstett estate. An idea blossomed in Catherine's mind, but she didn't share it with her love yet.

It was a dark and gloomy room, Aiden now remembered. Full of trinkets and cursed items. Here a mage lived that was wanted by the authorities of the whole star sector. The mage was strong in power but even more unscrupulous. Catherine laid her request bare. She wanted to be sleeved. But not becoming of the regular kind. Catherine needed a way to hide the fact she was sleeved, so the ability to hide the seam was added. And while she trusted Jaleed with her heart, she still wanted control over her own fate. The ability to control what memories and skills she shared was added. Along with the unique and unheard ability to turn human while not being worn. To animate herself and blend in. A means to live her life as before even though she was sleeved. With a few other details hammered out, Catherine consented to voluntarily being sleeved.

The next memory brought Aiden to the night of the heist. For the first time, Jaleed would enter her sleeved lover. It was a surprisingly intimate and pleasurable act for Catherine. And while Jaleed entered as Catherine a big charity event at the Van Deckstett estate, Catherine revealed in the pleasure and helplessness of being controlled by someone else. It was the rush of a drug and she was just getting hooked on it.

It was three star systems further in the small cabin of a freighter they had rented. Aiden now remembered Catherine and Jaleed fighting. They had pulled off the heist. Enough riches to last their lifetimes. But that wasn't the problem. It was Catherine's symptoms of withdrawal. She wanted to be worn as a sleeve. Needed to. But Jaleed was appalled. Refusing to be her ever again. The fight was messy. And by their next stop, they would just split the loot of their heist. From then on, they would never see each other again. Heartbroken, Catherine would move on.

It was a night like any other for Alleen in the next memory. She hadn't been Catherine for a decade now. Left behind half a galaxy away. Still, she very much looked like her. Hadn't even aged a day. Probably a side effect of being a sleeve. Alleen might entertain the thought she was human, but deep inside, she knew what she was. She still longed to be worn again. But not by anyone. Trust was hard to come by these days. Even her new boyfriend, Bothley, wouldn't do. At least he and his crew provided her some measure of distraction. Getting fucked by them was a pleasurable, but ill-fitting fix for her addiction.

And then the door to the bar opened. A rough bunch entered. Not unlikely in these parts. But something struck Alleen as wrong. Those guys were trouble. But then a younger man entered and he crossed eyes with Alleen. Aiden recognized himself in Alleen's memory. And now, from Alleen's perspective, he knew the spark between them that he had felt ran both ways.

Alleen had been weary. Aiden knew that now. Had contemplated pulling out that wicked shotgun more than once. But a slight mistake by Guston threw all calculations aside. Alleen had spotted the sleeve gun hidden under Guston's mantle. The old addiction came back in full swing. A plan was formed. The sleeve gun wouldn't do anything to her, but those fellas wouldn't know that. She could just let go of her ability to animate herself and crumble to the floor. Then, finally, someone would wear her again. Hopefully that young guy.

"You were onto us from the start," Aiden said out loud. "And that's why you helped me."

"I need someone inside me," Alleen whispered back in his mind. "Feeling you know inside me only reaffirms my decision. And you need a place to hide. It is a win-win situation. Don't you think so?"

Aiden pushed off the door he was leaning against and walked into the small apartment. He saw it for the first time, but everywhere he looked a familiarity settled in. It was as if he had lived here for years. It was small but cozy. A home of his own, if Aiden wanted it. And he wanted. Even needed it. It wasn't a ramshackle hut on a planet that barely sustained life or the small cabin shared with many unwashed men in Guston's spaceship.

He bit back the protest that he was a man inside a woman's body. Well, female sleeve. But with each passing moment, he felt more as if this body belonged to him. Even the thought of taking over for Alleen appealed to him. Having his own bar. A dedicated boyfriend with an attached harem of willing deputies that would go to lengths to protect him. No. Not him. Her. If he agreed, then Aiden would disappear. Replaced by a new Alleen posing as the old.

It would be easy too. More and more of Alleen's memories and skills had seeped into him. Altering him. Or rather, her. As new instincts intermingled with old ones, Aiden identified now more as a woman than a man. She still had her old memories. And maybe because of those the Alleen that now stood in the apartment was more than the sum of boy and worn sleeve. It was the drive and wanting of Aiden combined with the experience and knowledge of Alleen.

"I think we are in agreement, Catherine," the new Alleen said out loud.

"Great!" The sentient sleeve exclaimed. "But please don't call me Catherine. That's an old name for an old life. Just call me Alleen."

"Can't do. Because I have to make one thing clear. This-" The new Alleen let her hands roam over her newfound body. "The bar. This apartment. Bothley as a boyfriend. Even the name Alleen. If you want me to take over, then that is all mine. Because whatever the sleeve Alleen owns I will own. You will be my property. And there can't be two Alleens. The best I can do for you is shorten your name to Cat. Now, I have decided. I am willing to become Alleen. Eager even. But you have to decide too. Open the seam on my back so I can get out, or swear your loyalty to me."

There was silence after her speech. Seconds passed by as Cat thought about the offer. Meanwhile, the new Alleen worried she might have pushed too far. Just an hour ago she never would have thought she might want to be a woman. Now she longed for it. What the original Alleen had, she wanted it all.

"Yes, mistress Alleen," Cat suddenly spoke up. Startling Alleen. "I will be Cat for you. Your loyal sleeve. Property."

A hungry grin appeared on Alleen's face. It was as she had expected. Cat needed to be worn as much as the new Alleen needed to wear the sleeve. Her longing and continued withdrawal had eroded Cat's will. Making her meek and docile. Subservient even. That was alright. Allen two point oh was ready to take the reins.

"Well, my dear Cat, we have about an hour before my boyfriend shows up," Alleen said aloud. "Time enough for a bubble bath after a long day. But first-" She walked to her new bedroom and opened one of the dressers. It was filled with lingerie of all kinds. "Our hero deserves a treat, right? For saving us. What do you think might show our gratefulness the most?"

The end.